Impossibilities
by watergirl50610
Summary: The Eleventh Doctor accidentally kills himself and regenerates into a familiar face...
1. Chapter 1 - Regeneration

The prickly cactus plant is one of the most poison plants known to creature kind. Wolves know that when they see its dark purple leaves and it's squashed green midsection to stay away. Medicine men know to avoid the swampy marshlands where it usually lives, sitting on a pretty pedestal of pink roots that lift the plant slightly above the ground before plunging into the earth below.

What it was doing in the middle of the desert planet of Marloni, I may never know. Marloni's temperatures stretch beyond 120*F on a normal day, and plunge to -50*F on a normal night. This was the first time I had been to Marloni and I shouldn't have been snooping around in unknown territory, but I was. I knew I made a bad mistake when I took off my tweed and reached into a pitch-black hole in the middle of a sand dune and felt a super-sharp thorn lodge itself in my finger and instant pain spread all over my body.

"Curiosity kills the cat," people always say. Even the Time Lords had a nobler version of the phrase. I felt all the blood drain from my face as I realized what was now stuck into my body. I knew that in one hour I would be dead.

I quickly pulled my right hand out from the hole, a two-inch thorn sticking out of my index finger, releasing its poison into my system. I stumbled back and the sand and yelled "River! We have a problem!"

"What did you do now?" she yelled back from over the sand dune to my left.

"Umm, I've kind of killed myself," I said as I turned around and started running back towards the TARDIS before my legs became immobile. I yelled to her, "TARDIS! Now!" In this case, curiosity would kill the Time Lord.

I came upon the TARDIS and flew open the doors, stumbling inside, the tips of my toes starting to go numb. River ran in behind me and shut the doors. "What do you mean you've killed yourself? I don't see any regeneration energy coming from you," she followed me up the stairs towards the main control center and leaned over me as I flopped into a chair, examining me for injuries.

She spotted the silver thorn and went to pull it out, "No! No, don't do that!" I told her.

"Why? We need to get this out so the poison doesn't infect your system."

"Too late," I said grimly. "The prickly cactus plant is loaded with a deadly poison that attacks any living thing that has a nervous system. It sends an instantaneous message to all nerve cells in the victim's body to kill each other one at a time until none remain. It also makes the skin harden slightly, so if someone tries to pull the thorn out, the skin can't separate and it gets pulled off of the muscle, not tearing apart like normal. It is a horrible condition to be in for any humanoid creature like myself. You slowly feel your toes and calves go numb, and just 5 minutes after you've been stabbed, your thighs start to fade. It's the scariest feeling ever, a slow numbness progressing up your body and you can't do anything to control it." I rested my head on the back of the chair and closed my eyes, the upper part of my thighs tingling away to emptiness.

"Can it be reversed?" she asked with panic in her voice. I opened my eyes and locked onto hers; they were watery but intent.

"Unfortunately, no. As soon as it pierces the skin, it's an automatic death sentence." My voice caught at the end, now feeling my hips disappear. With not much muscle left to support my upper body, I asked River to help me lie on the floor and let the venom take control. She nodded and slid her arms under my own, lifting me up off of the seat and down onto the cold, glass floor.

I looked up at the TARDIS' ceiling and focused on the bright lights shining down on me. "Sexy," I called out. River looked down at me skeptically, not used to being called that.

"Yes?" she smiled, wiping her tearing eyes and enjoying the name she thought was for her.

I laughed and lifted my left hand to her head, running my slightly numb fingers through her tightly curled hair. "Oh, dear, I didn't mean you, even though you are very sexy."

She smiled and nodded, now understanding that I was talking to the TARDIS. "Mood lighting, please," I requested. The lights dimmed to a romantic glow, the strain on my eyes now gone.

I locked eyes with River once more and let the tears flow freely from them, a constant stream running down my cheeks. She was crying, too, her eyes getting puffy and swollen.

"I can't feel my abdomen," I told her. My hands and arms were gone, also. "The worst part is coming soon; my lungs will go numb and my breathing will become almost impossible," we both started crying a little harder, our cheeks damp with tears.

"Please, isn't there anything I can do?" she asked between quiet sobs. "I will do anything, please.." she trailed off, knowing the answer to her own question.

"Take off my bow tie," I told her, "It will make breathing a little easier." She let a little cry of distress escape, the thought of me suffocating tearing her apart.

She fumbled with my tie, slowly getting it off.

My breath caught in my lungs, the numbness starting to infect them. "I don't have much longer," I told her, my breaths becoming more strained by the second. "Stand back by the doors, you will be safest there," I wheezed.

Her beautiful face was still looking down on me, her tears dripping onto my cheeks and merging with mine. "I'm not leaving you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"You know you have to," I told her. "My regeneration will destroy you if you stand to close, and we both know that you don't die here." My mind flashed back to that day in the library, River's death day.

"Go, now," I told her, my speech no more than a whisper. She leaned down and kissed me like it was our last goodbye, which in a way, it was.

She pulled back and put her hand on the side of my face, smiling and crying, saying her last goodbyes to this version of me.

Standing up, River walked around me to the stairs and climbed down them, looking back at me when she got to the bottom.

I gathered all the energy I could and looked right into her shiny eyes and said with my last breath, "I'm sorry, my love."

She was sobbing now, her shoulders heaving as she walked to the doors and leaned her back against them, slumping down onto the floor with her knees pulled to her chest, watching me in my final moments.

I gasped for air and strained to keep my vision clear, not wanting to break eye contact with my wife. I could see the golden regeneration energy coming off of my face as my mind began to fog from lack of oxygen.

I closed my eyes, unable to bear the sight of River crying any longer.

The last words I heard before I died were "I love you," filled with the sorrow and agony of watching your beloved burst into flames.

• • •

I woke up in my own bed, tucked under the covers tightly. My head was still foggy, but it was clearing rather fast. I pulled off the sheets and inspected my limbs, assessing my new body. It seemed slightly familiar, thin, lanky arms. Not really much muscle. Long, knobby legs meant for running. I reached up and felt my short hair that was just a tad longer in the front, flopping on my forehead just above my eyes. It was coarse and medium brown, the same exact color as the tenth version of me.

The "new me" must have really wanted to look like him, because that's who I was reminded of.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and sat up straight, filling my lungs with the crisp, clean air of the TARDIS. "Voice check: one, two, thr- what?" my voice sounded exactly like Ten's. "No..." I whispered, which sounded he same, too.

I sprang up out of bed and ran over to the closet on the other side of the room and flung it open. On the back of the door was a full length mirror, and in it was a perfect reflection of Ten staring back at me.


	2. Chapter 2 - River's View

"What?!" I said again, not believing the sight in front of me. "WHAT?" My head was foggy again, but his time from confusion.

I reached out and touched the cool glass with my right hand, making sure that this was a real mirror, which it was, and not just some cruel trick.

I broke away from my looks for one second and happened to notice my pajamas; I wasn't wearing any. Stark naked, standing in the middle of my closet looking like a fool with my mouth hanging open staring at the own sight of me.

I reached to the dresser on my left and pulled open the top drawer, taking out some blue-stripped boxers and slipping them on. I pulled open the second drawer and grabbed a plain green pajama top and bottom, slipping those on, too.

I checked my reflection one more time before leaving and shook my head at the sight. _Unbelievable_, I thought. I had no clue how this had happened; I thought it was impossible for Time Lords to regenerate into a previous body.

I walked out of the closet, quietly closing the door behind me, and grabbed the dark blue robe hanging off of the back of it. I scratched my head and headed towards the door that led out of my room, wondering if the TARDIS control room was destroyed in this regeneration like it was in the previous one, from Ten to Eleven.

I stepped out of the corridor and into the main room, sighing in relief at the same interior design as before, glad I didn't have to figure out the controls again.

I walked up the slight slant leading up to the deck and noticed that the glass and wood around where I had regenerated were covered in black, burnt up regeneration energy.

The sight of my burning spot triggered a flashback of the last thing I saw before I regenerated: River. My hearts instantly skipped two beats, hoping that she didn't die in my fury of flames.

I glanced at the main doors to make sure she wasn't sitting there, dead, all burnt to a crisp, since she had given her last regenerations to me and wasn't able to renew herself anymore if she got hurt. My eyes watered, remembering her transferring her remaining regenerations to me after she poisoned me in Hitler's office.

A tear slid down my face as a bolted back down the ramp and through the corridor, past my room, and down to the study where River liked to spend most of her time.

The door was already open, so I walked right in. Laying there in the love seat against the right wall was my Time Lady wife, sound asleep, her curly hair pulled back into a tight bun.

She was breathing lightly, laying on her side, facing the middle of the room. She had covered herself in the purple fleece that we usually drape across the back of the seat and had changed into her pajamas, a light pink tank top and white shorts.

She looked so peaceful, not crying or yelling or anything. I walked over to her and gently picked her up, lifting her light frame into my arms and carrying her back down to my room.

I set her in bed and crawled in next to her, pulling the comforter and sheets up to our shoulders, snuggling next to her still undisturbed body. She was so warm, and I was unnaturally cold. The heat from her body warmed me up quickly, making me get drowsy.

I dozed off and woke up a little while later, slightly sweating. River was stirring next to me, clearly too warm also, a light layer of sweat on her forehead.

I took the comforter off of both of us and just lied there next to her while she woke up, waiting to hear the sound of her sweet voice once again.

"Mmm..." she said as she rolled over to face me, her eyes still closed. She reached out and pulled me close, pressing my thin frame against hers. Her head was by my shoulder and her arm draped over my waist, her legs tangled in between mine. I was so glad to have her back in my arms.

"I never thought I'd see this version of you again," she mumbled, her voice slurring from sleep.

"Me neither," I replied. I kissed her forehead and put one arm over her side, the other under my head. "I have no idea how this happened. I didn't even know it was possible!"

"While I was in the study, I couldn't find a thing," she said a little more clearly now. "Not one book on Time Lords or regeneration mentioned it. You must be some kind of miracle," she grinned.

"Oh, nah... Just some freaky Time Lord that doesn't know how to regenerate right." I looked down into her bluish-green eyes that were now staring at my new face. She smiled and I kissed her forehead again, not wanting this moment of happiness and love to end.

She stretched her neck up and kissed me, a long, passionate "Welcome home!" type kiss. I shivered, remembering the last time I we kissed like that. Oh, the fun we had...

River broke free of our embrace and started to untangle her legs from mine. I looked at her, puzzled, not sure what she was doing. When she sat up and pulled off the covers, I realized she was getting out of bed, "Wait, no, where are you going? Don't leave me!" I said, sounding like a little kid not wanting his mommy to leave him on the first day of school.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I've got things to do. I can't just lay around in your arms all day." I looked up at her. She was standing next to the bed, fixing her tank top to cover the little spot of skin that was showing down by her waist. "Just because you've regenerated doesn't mean you need me to baby you. You're much older than me, anyway; I think you can take care of yourself." She looked at me apologetically then turned to leave the room.

"Wait, wait. Just one thing," I said. She stopped halfway to the door and looked back at me. "How did you leave the control room if I was blocking your only exit?"

She sighed and walked back to the bed, sitting down on the edge. I scooted closer to her and put my hand on hers. "Well," she began, hers eyes growing shiny.

"You don't have to tell me, if it hurts you too much to remember." I recalled watching her regenerate from Mels into River, and how hard it was for me, even though I didn't know the Mels version of her that well.

"No, it's okay. It's kind of amazing, actually," she smiled and cleared her throat. "I think the TARDIS knew I wasn't safe where I was at, so she just kind of opened a trap door right under me and sent me sliding down into the pool," she laughed and looked up at the ceiling, all golden and beautiful.

"Really..." I marveled. "I had no clue she could do that." I grinned and kissed River again, my hand pressing on the back of her neck, keeping her lips on mine.

She started giggling. "What?" I asked, breaking free from her mouth.

"Just you," she smiled. "Even right after a regeneration, the most physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging thing in your life, you still want to kiss me. Especially in this circumstance."

I didn't get it. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just thought that you'd be more concerned with your body, this," she implied all of me, "is impossible."

I blushed and looked down at her hands. "You have time for that later. Right now I want to be with you." I moved over to the far side of the bed and patted the empty space next to me and winked.

She giggled again and climbed into bed, completely forgetting that she had "stuff to do"…


End file.
